Turbine Design

MECAL has been involved in wind turbine design for 20 years. We started by specialising in the design and engineering of all mechanical parts of the wind turbine. We now have expanded our knowledge and experience to a point where MECAL can plan, develop and manage all aspects of your turbine development project. Taking responsibility, we assure you the renowned high MECAL quality standard for your design.

Our enthusiastic and committed team of engineers is involved in the design, optimisation and certification of a large variety of wind turbines. We can also support you in adapting existing designs to your specific requirements. We provide the following services:

Conceptual Turbine Design

Acting as an independent company and cooperating together with major wind turbine manufacturers, MECAL is not biased towards certain turbine concepts. Our experience ranges from the traditional turbine with gearbox to direct drive machines, including hybrid designs and all varieties in between. During this phase, we develop the outline design of safety system and control system. Aero-elastic simulations give a first impression of the turbine loads.

Load Simulation & Control

MECAL supports your turbine design with load simulation, which is an integral part of the design process. We analyse wind turbine performance and calculate the loads of wind turbine components according to relevant standards and certification rules. We employ well known and accepted sofware codes. In addition, a control model is developed in-house, which allows a robust controller design with a defined balance between control efforts, loads and power output.

Optimisation of your wind turbines

To lower the cost of your turbine's energy, optimisation and cost reduction is essential. MECAL is well known for component optimisation, such as castings and towers. 
Examples:

  • The design of a light weight 5MW hub using topology optimisation which resulted in 38% mass reduction compared to conventional designs (presented on DEWEK 2004)
  • Application of site specific optimised towers (presented on EWEC 2006)

Certification

We develop new methods in close cooperation with the certification institutes, to facilitate rapid approval. Our quality in certification is recognized by major certification institutes, such as German Lloyd, DNV, and TÜV.

Mechanical Turbine Design

MECAL makes innovative and cost effective designs for all concepts by working together with your design team and suppliers, such as forgers, foundries and welders. In the design process, special attention is paid to (bolted) interfaces between components. Careful design and evaluation at early design stages prevent them from becoming drivers for the turbine design.

Measurement Validation

Measurement Validation is the last stage in the wind turbine development process and is essential for the certification of the wind turbine. Simulation and measurements are compared by MECAL and differences are analysed.

For more information, please contact our business unit Wind Turbine Development.